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Abstract:

A vehicle article carrier apparatus for supporting articles above an
outer body surface of a vehicle that has a pair of support rails fixedly
secured to the outer body surface. Each support rail may have at least
one structural feature in a wall portion thereof. At least one cross bar
having a pair of end supports may be supported on the support rails. At
least one of the end supports may have a pivotally mounted locking lever
and a pivotally mounted locking member operatively coupled together. The
locking member may have an element adapted to engage the at least one
structural feature in the support rail. Structure associated with each of
the locking lever, a housing of the end support, and the locking member
cooperate to prevent the locking lever from being moved into a seated
position in a recess of the housing if the end support is not aligned
with the structural feature in the support rail.

Claims:

1. A vehicle article carrier apparatus for supporting articles above an
outer body surface of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a pair of
support rails fixedly secured to said outer body surface and extending
parallel to a major longitudinal axis of the vehicle each said support
rail including at least one structural feature formed in a wall portion
thereof; a pair of cross bars adapted to be positioned to extend
transversely between the support rails and to be supported on the support
rails above the outer body surface, for supporting articles thereon; each
cross bar including a pair of end supports secured at opposing ends
thereof; at least a pair of said end supports each including: a housing
having a recess, the recess including a pocket therein; a pivotally
supported locking lever configured to be moved from an open, unlocked
position, to a closed, locked position in which the locking lever is
seated within the recess; a locking member pivotally supported from the
housing and operatively associated with the locking lever so as to be
moved pivotally toward a wall of the support rail when the locking lever
is moved from the open position to the closed position, and away from the
wall when the locking member is moved from the closed position to the
open position; and the locking member, the housing and the locking lever
each including structure that cooperatively enable the locking member to
interfere with movement of the locking lever into the closed position
when the end support is not longitudinally aligned with the structural
feature in its respective said support rail.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the structure of the locking lever
includes at least one tongue projecting from the locking lever; and
wherein the structure of the locking member includes a projecting lip
portion.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the structure of the housing
includes a pocket formed within the recess.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the structural feature of each one
of the support rails comprises a hole formed in the wall of its said
respective support rail.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the structure of the locking lever
includes at least one tongue projecting from the locking lever; the
structure of the locking member includes a projecting lip portion; and
the structure of the housing includes a pocket formed in the recess; and
wherein the projecting lip portion is configured to project into the
pocket to obstruct movement of the tongue into the pocket, when the end
support is not, aligned with the structural feature in the support rail,
and the locking lever is moved at least partially into the recess.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a locking key supported
on the locking lever; and wherein the housing includes a key-shaped
opening adapted to receive a portion of the locking key when the locking
lever is seated within the recess.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a T-shaped member that
is pivotally coupled to the locking lever; a pivot block that is
rotationally supported within a through hole in the locking member; and
wherein the operative coupling of the locking member and the locking
lever is accomplished by a portion of the T-shaped member engaging with
the pivot block such that pivotal movement of the locking lever causes a
pivoting movement of the locking member.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the locking lever includes a pair of
threaded elements each having a rounded nose portion, and wherein the
hole in the support rail comprises a pair of spaced apart holes, and
wherein the rounded nose portions engage in the pair of holes when the
end support is aligned with the pair of holes and the locking lever is
moved into the closed position.

9. A vehicle article carrier apparatus for supporting articles above an
outer body surface of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a pair of
support rails fixedly secured to said outer body surface and extending
parallel to a major longitudinal axis of the vehicle; a pair of cross
bars adapted to be positioned to extend transversely between the support
rails and to be supported on the support rails above the outer body
surface, for supporting articles thereon; each cross bar including a pair
of end supports secured at opposing ends thereof; at least a pair of said
end supports each including: a housing having a recess, the recess
including a pocket therein; a pivotally supported locking lever
configured to be moved from an open, unlocked position, to a closed,
locked position in which the locking lever is seated within the recess; a
locking member pivotally supported from the housing and operatively
associated with the locking lever so as to be moved pivotally when the
locking lever is moved from the open position to the closed position, the
locking member including an element for projecting into a hole in a wall
portion of an associated one of the support rails when the end support is
longitudinally aligned with the hole and the locking lever is moved into
the closed position, thus enabling the locking lever to be seated in the
recess; and the locking member including a portion that interferes with a
portion of the locking lever when the end support is not aligned with the
hole and an attempt it made to move the locking lever into the closed
position within the recess, to thus provide an indication to a user that
the element of the end support is not engaged with the hole in the
support rail.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the portion of the locking lever
comprises at least one tongue that projects from the locking lever; the
portion of the locking member comprises a projecting lip portion locking;
and the projecting lip portion projects at least partially into the
pocket to block the pocket when the end support is not aligned with the
hole in the support rail and the locking lever is moved toward its closed
position relative to the housing.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the element of the locking member
includes a threaded element that projects from the locking member.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the locking lever further includes
a locking key and the housing includes a key-shaped opening that engages
the locking key when the locking lever is in its closed position seated
within the recess in the housing.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the locking member includes a panel
portion depending therefrom, and wherein a pair of the elements is
secured to the panel portion, the pair of the elements comprising a pair
of threaded elements that each includes a rounded nose portion.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the locking lever can be pivoted
about a first axis and rotated about a second axis.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising: a T-shaped member
having a threaded shaft portion and a head that is pivotally supported
from the locking lever; and a pivot block that is rotationally supported
in a through hole in the locking member, the pivot block including a
threaded hole that engages the threaded shaft of the T-shaped member to
accomplish the operative coupling of the locking lever to the locking
member, the operative coupling enabling rotational movement of the pivot
block within the through hole of the locking member when the locking
lever is moved between the open and closed positions.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein a lower surface of the housing is
shaped in accordance with a profile of an upper portion of the support
rail on which the end support is disposed.

17. A vehicle article carrier apparatus for supporting articles above an
outer body surface of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a pair of
support rails fixedly secured to said outer body surface and extending
parallel to a major longitudinal axis of the vehicle; a pair of cross
bars adapted to be positioned to extend transversely between the support
rails and to be supported on the support rails above the outer body
surface, for supporting articles thereon; each cross bar including a pair
of end supports secured at opposing ends thereof; at least a pair of said
end supports each including: a housing having a recess, the recess
including a pocket therein; a pivotally supported locking lever
configured to be moved from an open, unlocked position, to a closed,
locked position in which the locking lever is seated within the recess; a
locking member pivotally supported from the housing and including a
through hole; a pivot block rotationally supported within the through
hole; a T-shaped member pivotally coupled to the locking lever and
engaged with the pivot block to enable pivotal movement of the locking
lever to cause a pivoting movement of the locking member when the locking
lever is moved between the open position and the closed position; the
locking member further including an element that projects into a hole in
a wall portion of an associated one of the support rails when the end
support is longitudinally aligned with the hole and the locking lever is
moved into the closed position, thus enabling the locking lever to be
seated in the recess; and the locking member further including a
projecting lip portion extending therefrom that projects into the pocket
in the recess of the housing, and which interferes with the tongue of the
locking lever when the end support is not aligned with the hole and an
attempt is made to move the locking lever into the closed position within
the recess, to thus provide an indication to a user that the element of
the end support is not engaged with the hole in the support rail.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further included a locking key carried on
the locking lever, and further comprising a key-shaped opening in the
recess for engaging the locking key when the locking lever is seated
within the recess of the end support.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the element of the locking member
comprises a pair of spaced apart threaded elements each having a rounded
nose portion, the rounded nose portions sized to engage with a
corresponding pair of the holes in the support rail.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein an outer surface of the locking
lever rests flush with an outer surface of the housing when the locking
lever is seated within the recess.

Description:

FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to vehicle article carrier systems,
and more particularly to a vehicle article carrier system employing an
end support that cannot be fully locked to an associated support rail
unless the end support is properly aligned with particular structure of
the support rail.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The statements in this section merely provide background
information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute
prior art.

[0003] Vehicle article carriers are used in a wide variety of applications
to support various articles above an outer body surface of a vehicle. In
one specific implementation at least one cross bar is supported above the
outer body surface by a pair of support rails. Typically the cross bar
has an end support at each end thereof that is in some way coupled to one
of the support rails to prevent the cross bar from moving along the
support rails. In some previous systems the cross bar has structure that
engages the support rail at predetermined locations along the support
rail. It would be desirable to provide some form of end support for a
cross bar that is able to be coupled at predetermined locations along a
pair of support rails, but which cannot be locked to its respective
support rail unless it is properly aligned at a predetermined
longitudinal location on the support rails.

SUMMARY

[0004] In one aspect the present disclosure relates to a vehicle article
carrier apparatus for supporting articles above an outer body surface of
a vehicle. The apparatus may comprise a pair of support rails fixedly
secured to the outer body surface and extending parallel to a major
longitudinal axis of the vehicle. Each support rail may include at least
one structural feature associated with a wall portion thereof. A pair of
cross bars may be included that are adapted to be positioned to extend
transversely between the support rails and to be supported on the support
rails above the outer body surface, for supporting articles thereon. Each
cross bar may include: [0005] at least a pair of end supports, with
each end support including: [0006] a housing having a recess, the recess
including a pocket therein; [0007] a pivotally supported locking lever
configured to be moved from an open, unlocked position, to a closed,
locked position in which the locking lever is seated within the recess;
[0008] a locking member pivotally supported from the housing and
operatively associated with the locking lever so as to be moved pivotally
toward a wall of the support rail when the locking lever is moved from
the open position to the closed position, and away from the wall when the
locking member is moved from the closed position to the open position;
and [0009] the locking member, the housing and the locking lever each
including structure that cooperatively enable the locking member to
interfere with movement of the locking lever into the closed position
when the end support is not longitudinally aligned with the structural
feature in its respective said support rail.

[0010] In another aspect the present disclosure relates to a vehicle
article carrier apparatus for supporting articles above an outer body
surface of a vehicle. The apparatus may comprise a pair of support rails
fixedly secured to the outer body surface and extending parallel to a
major longitudinal axis of the vehicle. A pair of cross bars may be
adapted to be positioned to extend transversely between the support rails
and to be supported on the support rails above the outer body surface,
for supporting articles thereon. Each cross bar may include: [0011] a
pair of end supports secured at opposing ends thereof, with each of the
end supports including: [0012] a housing having a recess, the recess
including a pocket therein; [0013] a pivotally supported locking lever
configured to be moved from an open, unlocked position, to a closed,
locked position in which the locking lever is seated within the recess;
[0014] a locking member pivotally supported from the housing and
operatively associated with the locking lever so as to be moved pivotally
when the locking lever is moved from the open position to the closed
position, the locking member including an element for projecting into a
hole in a wall portion of an associated one of the support rails when the
end support is longitudinally aligned with the hole and the locking lever
is moved into the closed position, thus enabling the locking lever to be
seated in the recess; and [0015] the locking member including a portion
that interferes with a portion of the locking lever when the end support
is not aligned with the hole and an attempt it made to move the locking
lever into the closed position within the recess, to thus provide an
indication to a user that the element of the end support is not engaged
with the hole in the support rail.

[0016] In still another aspect the present disclosure may include a
vehicle article carrier apparatus for supporting articles above an outer
body surface of a vehicle. The apparatus may comprise a pair of support
rails fixedly secured to the outer body surface and extending parallel to
a major longitudinal axis of the vehicle. A pair of cross bars may be
included that are adapted to be positioned to extend transversely between
the support rails and to be supported on the support rails above the
outer body surface, for supporting articles thereon. Each cross bar may
include: [0017] a pair of end supports secured at opposing ends
thereof, with each end support including: [0018] a housing having a
recess, the recess including a pocket therein; [0019] a pivotally
supported locking lever configured to be moved from an open, unlocked
position, to a closed, locked position in which the locking lever is
seated within the recess; [0020] a locking member pivotally supported
from the housing and including a through hole; [0021] a pivot block
rotationally supported within the through hole; [0022] a T-shaped member
pivotally coupled to the locking lever and engaged with the pivot block
to enable pivotal movement of the locking lever to cause a pivoting
movement of the locking member when the locking lever is moved between
the open position and the closed position; [0023] the locking member
further including an element that projects into a hole in a wall portion
of an associated one of the support rails when the end support is
longitudinally aligned with the hole and the locking lever is moved into
the closed position, thus enabling the locking lever to be seated in the
recess; and [0024] the locking member further including a projecting lip
portion extending therefrom that projects into the pocket in the recess
of the housing, and which interferes with the tongue of the locking lever
when the end support is not aligned with the hole and an attempt is made
to move the locking lever into the closed position within the recess.
This provides an indication to a user that the element of the end support
is not engaged with the hole in the support rail.

[0025] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the
description provided herein. It should be understood that the description
and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and
are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only
and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any
way.

[0027]FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of one embodiment of a
vehicle article carrier in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0028]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of one end support of one of
the cross bars shown in FIG. 1;

[0029]FIG. 3 is a side partial cross sectional view of the end support of
FIG. 2 in assembled form, with the locking lever in its fully closed
(i.e., locked) position;

[0030]FIG. 4 is a side partial cross sectional view of the end support of
FIG. 3 but with the rounded nose of the threaded element misaligned with
a hole in the support rail, and illustrating how the locking lever is
prevented from fully seating within the recess in the end support housing
during this misalignment condition;

[0031]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the end support of FIG. 3
illustrating the two tongue portions on the locking lever and the two
corresponding pockets in the housing that the tongue portions engage in
when the locking lever is fully seated in the recess of the housing; and

[0032]FIG. 6 is another embodiment of the end support illustrating how
the locking member may be formed to include an elongated, angular
projecting portion that extends through an opening in a pocket at an
upper end of the end support housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not
intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should
be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference
numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown one embodiment of a vehicle
article carrier 10 in accordance with the present disclosure. The vehicle
article carrier 10 may have a pair of elongated support rails 12 that are
fixedly secured to an outer body surface 14 of a vehicle 16 so as to
extend generally parallel to a major longitudinal axis of the vehicle 16.
One or more cross bars 18 may be removably secured to the support rails
12. Typically two cross bars 18 are employed and at least one is able to
be positioned at various locations along the support rails 12. Each cross
bar 18 may have an end support 20 at its opposing ends that may be locked
to an associated one of the support rails 12. In this regard, in the
embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 each of the support rails 12 may have at
least one structural feature 22, and more preferably a plurality of such
structural features spaced along a longitudinal length thereof. In one
embodiment the structural features 22 may form a plurality of holes, and
will hereafter be referred to simply as "holes 22". The holes 22 may be
formed so as to be spaced apart at predetermined locations along the
longitudinal length of each support rail 12, with the holes 22 further
being arranged such that each of the cross bars 18 may be secured to
extend perpendicularly along between the support rails 12 when the end
supports 20 are secured at the holes 22 in the support rails 12.

[0035] With reference to FIG. 2, one of the end supports 20 can be seen in
greater detail. It will be appreciated that each of the end supports 20
shown in FIG. 1 may be identical in construction. The end support 20
includes a housing 24 having a neck portion 26 which is fixedly secured
to a tubular section 28 of the cross bar 18 via one or more threaded
fasteners 30. The housing 24 also includes a recess 32 in which a
pivotally mounted locking lever 34 resides when the locking lever 34 is
in its fully locked position. With brief reference also to FIG. 5, the
locking lever 34 can be seen to also include a pair of spaced apart
tongues 36. The tongues 36 project into the recess 32 when the locking
lever 34 is closed. The locking lever 34 further includes a bore 38 in
which a head portion 42 of a T-shaped member 40 is captured. The head of
the T-shaped member 40 is able to pivot about the head 42 when a user
grasps an upper end 43 of the locking lever 34 and manipulates it towards
or away from the recess 32. The T-shaped member 40 also allows the
locking lever 34 to be rotated about a longitudinal axis extending
through the threaded shaft portion 44, to thus apply a pre-tensioning
force before the locking lever 34 is pivoted into its fully closed
position, which will be explained further in the following paragraphs.

[0036] With further reference to FIG. 2 the end support 20 can also be
seen to include a locking member 46 that is operatively coupled to the
locking lever 34 when the end support 20 is fully assembled. The locking
member 46 may have a depending panel portion 48 with a pair of threaded
openings 50, a tubular portion 52, an upper end 54 having a bore 56, and
a projecting lip portion 58. The tubular portion 52 may include a through
hole 60 and a secondary hole 61 arranged transverse to the through hole
60, the purpose of both of which will be described shortly. A compliance
member 62, which may be a suitably thick rubber pad, may also be included
for protecting the surface of the support rail 12 and ensuring a suitably
sufficient clamping force. A pair of threaded elements 64 having rounded
nose portions 66, and preferably made from metal or some other suitable
strong material, may be threaded into the threaded openings 50 of the
panel portion 48. However, it will be appreciated that while a pair of
the threaded elements 64 are used in this embodiment, that possibly a
single threaded element 64, or possibly more than two such threaded
elements 64, may be employed. In one embodiment the locking member 46 may
be formed as a full die-cast component with a single projecting rounded
nose portion.

[0037] Referring further to FIG. 2, the locking member 46 is pivotally
supported relative to the housing 24 by a pivot pin 68 that extends
through a bore 70 in the housing 24 and through the bore 56 in the upper
end 56 of the locking member 46. A pivot block 72 having a threaded bore
74 has rounded sides 76 and is dimensioned to be slidably inserted within
the through hole 60 of the locking member 46. The threaded shaft portion
44 is dimensioned to be threadably engaged within the threaded bore 74 of
the pivot block 72 when the pivot block is inserted in through hole 60
and the threaded shaft portion 44 is inserted through the secondary hole
61 and threadably engaged in the threaded bore 74. The through hole 60
and rounded sides 76 of the pivot block 72 enable the pivot block to
rotate freely within the through hole 60. The secondary hole 61 is
dimensioned to provide the needed clearance for allowing a small degree
of rotational movement between the threaded shaft portion 44 and the
tubular portion 52. A second compliance member 77, which may be a
suitably thick rubber pad, shaped in accordance with a contour of a lower
surface 79 of the housing 24, which itself conforms to a profile of an
upper portion of the support rail 12, may be secured to the lower surface
79 to protect the end support 20 and to ensure secure attachment of the
end support 20 to its associated support rail 12 when the end support is
clamped to the support rail 12.

[0038] Once the pivot block 72 and T-shaped member 40 are assembled to one
another, and the pivot block 72 inserted in the through hole 60 of the
locking member 46, then pivoting movement of the locking lever 34 will
cause pivotal movement of the locking member 46 about the pivot pin 68.
Rotational movement of the locking lever 34 in accordance with arrow 78
will cause a lower end 80 of the locking lever to be tightened, which
effectively tightens the locking member 46, relative to the housing 24,
when the locking lever 34 is urged from an open (unlocked) position to a
closed (locked) position within the recess 32 in the housing 24. To this
end it will be appreciated that an edge surface 82 at the lower end 80 of
the locking lever 34 provides an over-center locking action which serves
to help maintain the locking lever 34 in its locked position once the
locking lever is fully seated in the recess 32. Optionally the locking
lever 34 may also include a locking key 84 that may be disposed within a
hole 86 at the upper end 43 of the locking lever 34. The locking key 84
may rest within a recess 88 and a keyed shaft portion 90 may engage
within a key shaped opening 92 in the recess 32 of the housing 24.
Rotation of the locking key 84 through manipulation with one or more
fingers of a hand locks the upper end 43 of the locking lever 34 in its
locked position in the recess 32 when the locking lever is fully seated
within the recess 32. The recess 32 has a pocket portion 93 at an upper
end thereof which permits the upper end 43 of the locking lever 34 to be
engaged with a finger when the locking lever 34 is fully seated in the
recess 32.

[0039] With reference now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the housing 24 can be seen
to also include pockets 94 into which the tongues 36 project when the
locking lever 34 is in its fully locked position, as shown specifically
in FIG. 3. The rounded nose portion 66 is shown in phantom extending
through one of the holes 22 in a wall portion 12a of the support rail 12
so as to project into an interior area of the support rail. Thus, when
the end support 20 is longitudinally aligned with the hole 22, the
rounded nose portions 66 of each of the threaded elements 64 can be fully
seated within respective ones of the holes 22, and the projecting lip
portion 58 of the locking member 46 will not interfere with entry of the
tongues 36 into the pockets 94. Thus, complete seating of the locking
lever 34 in the recess 32 can be accomplished. Put differently, when the
end support 20 is longitudinally aligned with a pair of the holes 22, the
rounded nose portions 66 of the threaded elements 64 are able to be fully
engaged in the holes 22 in the support rail 12, and the projecting lip
portion 58 will be positioned such that it is not blocking the pockets 94
in the recess 32. This allows the tongues 36 to move fully into the
pockets 94, which in turn permits the locking lever 34 to be fully seated
within the recess 32. When the locking lever 34 is in the closed (i.e.
locked) position, an outer surface 35 is generally flush with an outer
surface 24a of the housing 24, which provides the end support 20 with an
aesthetically pleasing and highly aerodynamic profile.

[0040] Referring briefly to FIG. 4, the end support 20 is shown when the
end support 20 is not longitudinally aligned with the hole 22. The
rounded nose portion 66 of the threaded element 64 is not aligned with
the hole 22, and therefore is abutting an inner wall portion 12a of the
support rail 12. In this position the tongues 36 are blocked from
entering the pockets 94 by the projecting lip portion 58. As a result,
the user will not be able to fully close the locking lever 34. This
provides a highly useful means of indicating to the user that the end
support 20 is not properly aligned with the holes 22 and is therefore not
fully locked to the support rail 12. Accordingly, there is significantly
less chance that the user may inadvertently leave the locking lever 34 in
only a partially closed position.

[0041] Referring to FIG. 6 another embodiment of an end support 20' for
the cross bar 18 is shown. End support 20' is substantially identical to
the end support 20 and common components with those of the end support 20
will be denoted using the same reference number but with a prime (')
symbol. A locking member 46' in this embodiment includes an elongated,
angled projecting portion 58' that projects through a slot 93a in the
pocket 93' of the housing 24' when the rounded noses 66' of the threaded
elements 64' are not aligned with a pair of holes 22 in the support rail
12. The elongated, angled projecting portion 58' thus interferes with the
upper end 43' of the locking lever 34' being fully seated within the
recess 32' within the housing 24'. In this embodiment it will be noted
that the tongue portions 36 of the locking lever 34 are not required.
When the rounded noses 66' of the threaded elements 64' are fully seated
within a corresponding pair of the holes 22, then the elongated, angled
projecting portion 58' will be placed in a position (shown partially in
phantom) that permits the locking lever 34' to be fully seated within the
recess 32'. Those of ordinary skill in this art will appreciate that
various other implementations of the locking members 46 and 46', that
accomplish preventing the locking levers 34 or 34' from being fully
seated in the recesses 32 or 32', will be possible as well, and that
these examples are intended to be non-limiting.

[0042] The various embodiments thus form economical and easily implemented
end support configurations that permit the user to be made aware from the
end support is not properly aligned with the holes in a support rail.
Advantageously, the various embodiments disclosed herein can be
implemented with a relatively few independent component parts that do not
appreciably increase the complexity of the end support either from a
manufacturing complexity or an assembly complexity standpoint. The
various components may be formed from high strength plastics, aluminum or
steel (preferably stainless steel), or any other suitable components.

[0043] While various embodiments have been described, those skilled in the
art will recognize modifications or variations which might be made
without departing from the present disclosure. The examples illustrate
the various embodiments and are not intended to limit the present
disclosure. Therefore, the description and claims should be interpreted
liberally with only such limitation as is necessary in view of the
pertinent prior art.